Rough seas for a large part of Maldives; weather expected to clear on Tues

The current spell of bad weather will begin to clear on Tuesday, forecasts the Maldives Meteorological Service.

On Saturday, the national weather agency said it forecasts scattered rain with a few heavy showers and thunderstorms across the Maldives over the next 24 hours, coupled with strong winds and rough seas.

The agency forecasts winds ranging from southwest to westerly at 13 – 23 miles per hour.

Winds may gust to 45 miles per hour during showers

Seas are expected to be rough with waves of 5 – 7 feet.

The Meteorological Service attributes the current spell of bad weather to the intensification of the active Southwest Monsoon, locally known as the Hulhangu Monsoon.

The agency expects the weather to begin to clear in southern regions on Monday, and in northern and central regions on Tuesday.

The Maldives experiences two distinct seasons: the Southwest or Hulhangu Monsoon, which typically runs from May to November, and the Northeast or Iruvai Monsoon, which usually lasts from January to March.

The impact of the Hulhangu Monsoon is initially felt in the southern regions around the first or second week of May, spreading to the central regions and eventually encompassing the entire country by the end of the month.

This year, the Hulhangu Monsoon commenced for the southern region on May 7.